Rating: 
Summary: What a great didgital camera!
Review: The Minolta D404 takes great didgital pictures from 4" to infinity. Just point and shoot with the AF/AE. The resolution is superb. Downloading using the USB with XP is easy and takes only a few minutes. The camera is lightweight, holds nice and uses standard 4AA bateries. Use rechargeables. The controls are easy to learn and use and are well laid out. Delete old pictures using Windows explorer or imaging software. The camera also has audio and motion features.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Camera
Review: The S404 performs even better than I expected, with sharp, clear pictures. And, as expected, the batteries drain quickly. The first thing I did was visit [local store] and get a couple sets of 1800 maH batteries and a 2-hr charger (very good price on these). I also suggest getting as much Compact Flash as you can afford - I got the 256 MB in addition to what came with the camera. You won't find a 4.1 mp camera anywhere for the price, and very few 3.0 mp cameras can beat the price. Nothing is perfect, and every camera has its drawbacks - I just haven't found any yet with this one. You can't go wrong with the S404 unless you have a sack full of money and can get something really expensive :)UPDATE: I've found the solution to the battery problem. Mine become "dead" sometimes after only 3 or 4 shots, sometimes I get as many as 10-12 shots. Recently I purchased a "slow" battery charger - it takes up to 12 hours to recharge my batteries, but WOW! It's well worth the wait. First time I used the "slow" charged batteries, I got over 50 pictures made WITH THE VIEWFINDER TURNED ON!!! And the indicator still showed plenty of charge. So, if you want your digital camera experience to be really nice, get a "slow" battery recharger, not a fast 1- or 2-hour one.
Rating: 
Summary: Disapointed with Minolta
Review: The service provided by Minolta repair is unacceptable. I've had to send my S404 camera back to them twice. Both times they claimed it arrived with physical damaged. If it was, it was not by me. When I asked them to initiate a claim at the Post Office on the first repair, they said, oh well, we will fix it. The same story on the second time I had problems 5 months later. Except his time they won't fix it under the extended warranty, and when I asked to speak to a manager, I was told to write them a letter. I asked them again to take it to the Post Office with the original packaging (per the procedure the Post Office where it was sent from told me was needed to start a claim), they said write a letter. I suspect they have a scam to avoid warranty work by claiming the camera was damaged. Also I suspect they can't start the claim at the Post Office as they have thrown away the original packaging. They have had the camera one month to the day and still no work has been done, and I won't likely have the camera by the Holidays.
Rating:
Summary: Not to go over the top, but this is a great camera!
Review: This camera is an upgrade for me and I'm embarrassed by how much I paid for so little camera last time around. So, I chose carefully and have not been disappointed. Best shooting so far has been at the Tidal Basin last Friday just past the peak of the cherry blossoms. The camera took some amazing shots of the Washington and Jefferson monuments surrounded by the pink splendor. I displayed the shots on my big screen TV to the whole family without any problems. Color was perfect and the automation in this camera really frames the shots well. I'm a so, so photographer so this is a big plus. Next I tried it out at the Dolphin show up at the National Acquarium in Baltimore. The results were excellent, especially the zoom. I caught the dolphins in the midst of almost every trick including the huge leap to the top of the auditorium to touch the ball. I also took some incredible photos through the glass of the seahorses. The exposure took some tweaking but I was able to figure it out with less than 10 shots. The family oohed and ahhed when they saw them. For those of you who own Minolta and have grown used to the interface and quality of features, this is a no-brainer. For the price, I expected a bit less and have been consistently amazed by the quality of pictures it takes, especially in automatic mode. My SLR has been sent to the cabinet until I really need it for more complicated shots. Be sure to have at least 2 sets of batteries and keep them in your bag. Each trip I exhausted the batteries and had to change them. Also, for the $$$, I recommend a 256MB card so you can take 100+ high quality images. That's what 4.0MP is all about.
Rating:
Summary: Love this camera
Review: This camera is awesome. It has everything you would want in a 4 MP camera. It takes excellect pictures. I would buy any camera from the minds of Minolta.
Rating:
Summary: With Mac OS X
Review: This camera is great. I agree with everything written above. The only negative is the way these digital cameras eat up batteries, but that's across the board. Make sure you get the NiMH AA batteries, rechargable if possible. The quality of the pictures is awesome, but what impressed me the most was the features. You can do anything automatically or manually. You name it, this camera does it except for the effect processing things like B&W or sepia. These things I prefer doing on the computer anyway and don't want to pay for it. Speaking of paying for it, yes that's the real price. I thought compared to the prices of other cameras, either this was a wrong price or the camera was junk. Especially with the zoom factor. But the price was real and the camera's anything but junk. The main reason I'm writing is to let all the Apple users know that this camera does work with OS X and iPhoto perfectly. No software install needed with a Mac. Just plug the camera into your keyboard and it launches iPhoto automatically. Click Import and your done. Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Intermediate Great Camera
Review: This camera takes a impressive picture out of the box, in default modes. Taking it to the next step in full manual modes allows for unlimited adjustments.
This is a great camera for the semi-beginner in the digital camera world. Even if you've had a digital camera for a while now, this is a good buy.
Rating:
Summary: I Love This Camera!
Review: This camera takes wonderful pictures! I took it to the zoo on an overcast day. The auto controls did a great job of bringing out the color. I was able to shoot through glass, with the flash on, with no glare showing up in the photo. I got some great aquarium shots this way. The macro mode is amazing! The 4 megapixels allow for a lot of cropping to get terrific close-ups, especially when combined with the 4X optical zoom. I am still learning how to use the manual focus controls, but can see that this camera has a lot to offer for both the experienced and novice photographer. I will warn you to use NiMh batteries and take a couple of extra sets with you if you plan to do a lot of shooting. This is true of any digital camera though.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice - But Not nice enough
Review: This is (was) my second digital camera. After much research for an upcoming trip I decided on the Minolta. Long story short... I took it back 3 days later. Here's why: Battery Drainer! Even with 1800 Mah NiMH batteries, it does not last long. Although it has nice features and takes nice photos, it isn't worth much to me if you have to carry around a boat-load of batteries...especially on a vacation. Another thing to remember, 2,272 x 1,704 pixel images is large, but will never be as large as 35mm film. I am getting a very nice compact film camera, having the film scanned to CD, and calling it a digital camera for a fourth of the price.
Rating:
Summary: DanC
Review: This is my 1st. digital camera. Easy to use and the picture quality is great. Also baught a 128 flash card and card reader. Would recommend both the bigger flash card for more pictures and the flash card reader to simplify the process! I would recommend this camera to any 1st. time user or anyone who appreciates great pictures and ease of use.
| 
